Nell Nolan: Butcher, Charbonnet, Gomila debs; Bryan, Philipson, Smith, Weinmann debs
— A debutante party for Laura Butcher, Elizabeth Anne Charbonnet and Evie Gomila was held at the New Orleans Country Club. Butcher, Charbonnet and Gombila debs party, December 22, 2022 — Anne Goliwas, John Charbonnet
- STAFF PHOTO BY DANIEL ERATH
— A debutante party for Laura Butcher, Elizabeth Anne Charbonnet and Evie Gomila was held at the New Orleans Country Club. Butcher, Charbonnet and Gombila debs party, December 22, 2022 — Fritz, Evie and Gwathmey Gomila
- STAFF PHOTO BY DANIEL ERATH
— A debutante party for Laura Butcher, Elizabeth Anne Charbonnet and Evie Gomila was held at the New Orleans Country Club. Butcher, Charbonnet and Gombila debs party, December 22, 2022 — Price Butcher, Elizabeth Nalty, Betsy Nalty Simmons, Martin Butcher
- STAFF PHOTO BY DANIEL ERATH
— A debutante party for Laura Butcher, Elizabeth Anne Charbonnet and Evie Gomila was held at the New Orleans Country Club. Butcher, Charbonnet and Gombila debs party, December 22, 2022 — Martha, Elizabeth Anne and Jack Charbonnet
- STAFF PHOTO BY DANIEL ERATH
— A debutante party for Laura Butcher, Elizabeth Anne Charbonnet and Evie Gomila was held at the New Orleans Country Club. Butcher, Charbonnet and Gombila debs party, December 22, 2022 — Helen, Laura and Kim Butcher
- STAFF PHOTO BY DANIEL ERATH
— A debutante party for Eugenie Philipson, Emily Weinmann, Julia Smith and Lucy Bryan was held at the Fillmore. Philipson, Weinmann, Smith and Bryan Debs party, December 29, 2022 — Randy and Rae Bryan
- STAFF PHOTO BY DANIEL ERATH
— A debutante party for Eugenie Philipson, Emily Weinmann, Julia Smith and Lucy Bryan was held at the Fillmore. Philipson, Weinmann, Smith and Bryan Debs party, December 29, 2022 — Eugenie Philipson, Emily Weinmann, Julia Smith, Lucy Bryan
- STAFF PHOTO BY DANIEL ERATH
— A debutante party for Eugenie Philipson, Emily Weinmann, Julia Smith and Lucy Bryan was held at the Fillmore. Philipson, Weinmann, Smith and Bryan Debs party, December 29, 2022 — Randy and Darnell Philipson, Helen and Tim Young
- STAFF PHOTO BY DANIEL ERATH
— A debutante party for Eugenie Philipson, Emily Weinmann, Julia Smith and Lucy Bryan was held at the Fillmore. Philipson, Weinmann, Smith and Bryan Debs party, December 29, 2022 — Cindy Howson Weinmann, Robert and Karen Weinmann
- STAFF PHOTO BY DANIEL ERATH
— A debutante party for Eugenie Philipson, Emily Weinmann, Julia Smith and Lucy Bryan was held at the Fillmore. Philipson, Weinmann, Smith and Bryan Debs party, December 29, 2022 — George Smith, Bobby Weinmann, Everett Philipson
- STAFF PHOTO BY DANIEL ERATH
Parties!
Noel Nod
“Join us for Christmas Merriment honoring Laura Morgan Butcher, Elizabeth Anne Charbonnet (and) Evaline Finlay Gomila” was scripted in gold on the Scriptura invitation issued by their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Kimberlin Price Butcher, Mr. and Mrs. John Denechaud Charbonnet Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Moylan Feild Gomila, for a seasonal salute at the New Orleans Country Club. The design and planning was by Angle Events.
Three Christmas trees personalized for each debutante greeted guests, who were then received by the hosts and their daughters. Transformed, the club’s Main Ballroom made a yuletide statement with custom cutouts of white trees around the perimeter that framed the two-tiered stage and bars. Specialty lighting emulated the nighttime sky. In the adjoining Founder’s Room, cozy was the come-on with lounge seating around the fireplace over which a huge wreath hung, and the attraction of a sumptuous St. James Cheese Company charcuterie table.
Moving on to the Gold Room, shuffle was the surprise. A regulation-size shuffleboard table was made out of ice and topped with the honorees’ names, inviting the party pack to play games with ice pucks. From the ceiling and furthering the winter-white ambiance were decorative giant white orbs and white stars.
Adding sartorial “decoration” were Laura and mom Helen Butcher in Greta Constantine dresses from SoSusu; Evie Gomila in St. John and Gwathmey in Oscar de la Renta; and Elizabeth Anne and Martha Charbonnet, respectively sporting Amur Giada and Lela Rose. The dads wore custom jackets.
Reveling with their relatives were the Butcher brigade: deb brothers Price and Martin, grandparents Betsy Nalty Simmons and Dick, Elizabeth Nalty, Angie and Donald Nalty, Morgan Nalty, Layne and Morgan Elizabeth Nalty, and William Nalty. Deb brothers to Evie, Moylan Feild Gomila III and Frank Hampton Gomila, were in the company of grandmothers Mary Fleming Finlay and Susan Baldwin Gomila. Deb siblings Taylor, Christian and Terren Charbonnet partied with their sister, as did granddad John Charbonnet.
Further attractions included Urban Earth’s magnolia leaves, Christmas greenery and florals; Boogie Booth’s roaming Photo Booth; the transformed terrace with fire pits, s’mores and Christmas sweaters; and an ice cream sundae station. Making their rounds within these delights were Virginia and John Rowan, Anne Lynne and Storey Charbonnet, Barbara and Andrew Rosenberg, Susu and Andrew Stall, Ann and Robert Boh, Ashley and Edgar Bright, Mathilde and Richard Currence, Maria and Noel Johnson, Caroline and Murray Calhoun, Anne and Billy Goliwas, Squeaky and Paul Connolly, Jill Nalty, Barbara and Clark Fitz-Hugh, Courtney and Ted Le Clercq, Courtney and Louis Freeman, Ashley Wallace, Wendy and David Joseph, Julie and Patrick Calhoun, Kim and Jamey Roddy, Leslie and Brad Gottsegen, Laura and Paul Politz, Mimi and Rosie Odem and Molly and Kristen Baumer.
Food, glorious food was a constant lure, with turtle soup, ham biscuits, lamb chops and several stations. Late-night snacks, too. Partaking were Kate and John Werner, Jenny and John Charpentier, Maria Wisdom with Helen and Tommy, Eugenie and Rob Atherton, Laurie and Claude Williams, Lizzie and Brent Peus, Tina and Barry kern, Tavi and Corky Jones, Catherine and Peter Freeman, Boo and Sid Charbonnet with Sidney, Erin and Michael Cook with Cece, Jeanne and Gerry Barousse with Aimee, Colleen and Marty McLeod with Gigi, Jennifer and Scott Hardie with Anna, Stephanie and Justin Lilly with Madeleine and scores more in the three-generational gamut.
Music kicked in so they could kick up their heels. A special moment occurred when the high-energy band Manhattan (by the Jordan Kahn Orchestra) revved up “We Are Family” and Laura, Elizabeth Anne and Evie hopped on the stage to sing and boogie with their brothers. Adding his presence — presents, too — was a certain red-garbed gent who arrived in a “ho-ho” St. Nick of time and passed out Christmas fare to one and happy all.
Speak … Easy
The Scriptura invitation, done in colors of gray, red and white and inspired by the artwork of Piero Fornasetti (1913-1988), intrigued recipients with the wording “Follow Me.” And indeed hundreds did to The Fillmore on Canal Street, where Lucy Bryan, Eugenie Philipson, Julia Smith and Emily Weinmann were honored by their parents, Mr. and Mrs. James Randolph Bryan, Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Arthur Philipson, Mr. and Mrs. Timothy Justin Young (mother and stepdad of Julia) and Ms. Cindy Howson Weinmann and Mr. and Mrs. Robert St. George Tucker Weinmann (father and stepmother for Emily). A drawing of a seductive key-holed eye figured on the back of the invitation.
The modern-day speakeasy motif was easily accommodated by the capacious venue with a dark, blank canvas for décor and large-scale design elements. An impressive wall installation by Dunn & Sonnier of roses, amaranthus, orchids and hydrangeas, as well as floral-filled vintage tubas suggestive of a musical blast, were initial decorative features. A step-and-repeat of faces and red lighting added special effects. After a while, the doors opened to the auditorium for The Fillmore fullness of the bash. Kenny Lacour/Grand Events was the party planner and producer.
The Bryans, deb Lucy and mom Rae, sported dresses with floral hints; Eugenie caught the collective eye in a short feathery mode, while Darnell opted for long; Julia’s frock sported ruffles and Helen’s, a thematic geometric pattern; and Emily and mother Cindy opted respectively for a one-shoulder look and velvet floral accents and beading. Kathleen Van Horn of KVH Designs created the Smith/Young dresses, along with Emily’s. The debutante fathers donned winter white jackets and bow ties.
Craft cocktails provided inspirational sipping, complementing the multicultural menu of the Windsor Court Hotel that featured, in various renditions, lobster, shrimp, dumplings, chicken, short ribs, prime New York strip, a St. James Cheese Company station and a liquid nitrogen station with its choice edibles.
Enjoying all the “Follow me” fun were Lucy’s former debutante sisters Margaret Ann and Virginia Bryan, Allan and Joan Bryan, and Michael and Mariska Morse and children Mikayla and Henry. Deb brother Everett Philipson partied with Eugenie, as did Keith Lofton Crawford, Edmund Scott Philipson, Elizabeth Crawford, Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Avin, and Erica and James Reiss and daughters Tatum and Brooke. Julia’s nearest and dearest included brother George Smith and fiancée Alyssa Wiley, grandparents Hope and Michael “Mike” Read, Susan Johnson, Courtney and Ted Le Clercq with Douglass, Price and Susan, Marguerite and Jimmy Kock, and Katherine Whann and Robert Young. Weinmann family counted Emily’s siblings Bobby (with Megan King) and Nicole (with Ross Manfre) and grandmother Virginia. All four hosting families had overlapping guest lists.
